This US State Has the Highest Number of People Murdered by Serial Killers

As of September 2016, roughly 13,105 people in the United States have been murdered by a serial killer since 1900, according to research conducted by Radford University and the Florida Gulf Coast University. The United States has the highest number of known serial killers, with a total of 3,204. This is followed by England, which has 166 serial killers, and South Africa, with a total of 117.

These are the states with the highest number of people murdered by serial killers according to research from Radford University and the Florida Gulf Coast University.

15. Virginia

Virginia serial killer Timothy Wilson Spencer was the first person in the U.S. to be convicted of a capital crime based on DNA testing. | Scott Gries/Getty Images

Number of victims: 238

Approximately 238 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Virginia since 1900. This is up from a total of 225 in 2015. One of Virginia’s most notorious serial killers is Timothy Wilson Spencer, known as the “Southside Strangler.” He broke into victims’ homes and then raped and strangled them. He was found guilty of raping and murdering four women and received the death penalty in 1994. Spencer is the first person in the United States to be convicted of a capital crime based on DNA testing.

Next: This killer went unnoticed for years.

14. North Carolina

One of North Carolina’s most notorious serial killers was known as the “Taco Bell Strangler.” | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Number of victims: 266

Roughly 266 people have been murdered by a serial killer in North Carolina since 1900. This is up from a total of 232 in 2015. One of North Carolina’s most notorious serial killers is Henry Louis Wallace, known as the “Taco Bell Strangler.” He was given this nickname because he used to work at Taco Bell. Two of his victims were women he supervised. Wallace admitted to murdering at least 11 women from 1992 to 1994.

Next: This serial killer targeted men and boys.

13. Louisiana

About 300 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Louisiana since 1900. | f11photo/iStock/Getty Images

Number of victims: 300

Roughly 300 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Louisiana since 1900. This is up from a total of 280 in 2015. One of Louisiana’s most notorious serial killers is Ronald Joseph Dominique, known as the “Bayou Strangler.” In 2008, he was convicted of murdering eight men between the ages of 16 and 46. However, it is believed he has murdered at least 23 people.

Next: This killer died in prison.

12. Missouri

Missouri serial killer Charles Ray Hatcher was sentenced to life in prison and died by suicide in 1984. | Manuel-F-O/iStock/Getty Images

Number of victims: 311

Roughly 311 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Missouri since 1900. This is up from a total of 264 in 2015. One of Missouri’s most notorious serial killers is Charles Ray Hatcher. He raped and murdered roughly 16 people in Missouri and California between 1969 and 1982. He also killed an inmate during his incarceration. Hatcher was sentenced to life in prison and later hanged himself in 1984.

Next: This killer was a former Marine.

11. Indiana

An abandoned home in Gary, Indiana, where police say serial killer Darren Deon Vann left the body of one of his victims. | John Gress/Getty Images

Number of victims: 341

Approximately 341 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Indiana since 1900. This is up from a total of 304 in 2015. An infamous Indiana serial killer is Darren D. Vann. The former Marine admitted to murdering seven women, but police believe there are more victims. Vann targeted women who were estranged from their families and involved in prostitution or drugs. He told detectives he killed the women out of anger because he had to go to jail for a prior offense, reports People. Vann was sentenced to life in prison.

Next: This serial killer chose a vulnerable population.

10. Georgia

Roughly 365 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Georgia since 1900. This is up from a total of 321 in 2015. One of Georgia’s most notorious serial killers is Carlton Gary, known as the “Stocking Strangler.” Gary was convicted of raping three elderly women in Columbus, Georgia, and strangling them with their own pantyhose. According to authorities, he raped and strangled seven women, in addition to two other women who survived their attacks, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Next: The serial killer in this state is thought to have committed hate crimes.

9. Michigan

Roughly 381 people have been murdered by a serial killer in the state of Michigan since 1900. This is up from a total of 317 in 2015. One well-known Michigan serial killer is Elias Abuelazam, known as the “Flint Serial Stabber.” He stabbed at least 20 people in Flint, Michigan, killing five of them. The stabbings were thought to be hate crimes because most of the people he targeted were African American. He also confessed to stabbing and killing a Virginia man. Abuelazam was sentenced to life in prison.

Next: This river has a horrific connection.

8. Washington

Gary Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, prepares to leave the courtroom after sentencing. | Josh Trujillo-Pool/Getty Images

Number of victims: 390

Roughly 390 people have been murdered by a serial killer in the state of Washington since 1900. This is up from a total of 277 in 2015. An infamous Washington serial killer is Gary Ridgway, also known as the “Green River Killer.” He got this nickname after several of his victims were found in this river. Ridgway confessed to killing at least 80 people. He was later charged with 49 murders and given 49 consecutive life sentences.

Next: This state has one of the youngest serial killers.

7. Pennsylvania

An estimated 420 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Pennsylvania since 1900. | fotoguy22/iStock/Getty Images

Number of victims: 420

Approximately 420 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Pennsylvania since 1900. This is up from a total of 356 in 2015. An infamous Pennsylvania serial killer is Harvey Robinson. Just 17 years old at the time he committed his first murder in 1993, he is known for being one of the youngest serial killers. He was found guilty of attacking and raping five women and murdering three of them. One of his youngest victims was a five-year-old-girl, whom he raped and strangled. The young girl survived the assault.

Next: His victim managed to get away.

6. Ohio

An estimated 433 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Ohio since 1900. This is up from a total of 358 in 2015. A notorious Ohio serial killer is Shawn Grate. He was found guilty of murdering at least five women. Grate was arrested in September 2016 after a woman he abducted called the police. She told the dispatcher she had been abducted and held captive in Grate’s home. Shawn Grate was sentenced to death in early 2018.

Next: This killer is serving a 203-year prison sentence.

5. New York

Police crime tape along a beachside road in New York where four bodies were discovered in 2010. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Number of victims: 628

Roughly 628 people have been murdered by a serial killer in New York since 1900. This is up from a total of 559 in 2015. A notorious New York serial killer is Joel Rifkin. It is believed he killed at least 17 women. Rifkin is currently serving a 203-year prison sentence in the Clinton Correctional Facility for the murders of nine women from 1989 to 1993. He won’t be eligible for parole until 2197, which would make him 238 years old.

Next: A killer clown

4. Illinois

Roughly 629 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Illinois since 1900. This is up from a total of 568 in 2015. One well-known Illinois serial killer is John Wayne Gacy, also known as the “Serial Killer Clown.” Gacy was found guilty of murdering 33 boys and young men from 1972 to 1978. He got his nickname because he worked as a clown at children’s parties and would often murder his victims while wearing the clown costume. He would perform these killings as his alter ego, “Pogo the Clown.”

Next: The Sunshine State has a dark past.

3. Florida

Roughly 845 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Florida since 1900. This is up from a total of 780 in 2015. Ted Bundy is known for killing women in the Sunshine State. He admitted to killing 36 women across several states in the 1970s, but the final number is likely more than 100 according to experts. Bundy was sentenced to execution by electric chair and died on January 24, 1989, in Florida.

Next: He used candy to win his victims’ trust.

2. Texas

Candy | kiko_jimenez/Getty Images

Number of victims: 893

Approximately 893 people have been murdered by a serial killer in Texas since 1900. This is up from a total of 808 in 2015. One notorious Texas serial killer is Dean Croll, also known as “The Candy Man.” This is because he would convince children and teenagers to come to his van by promising them candy.

Next: This state has the highest number of people murdered by serial killers.

1. California

Accused rapist and killer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Number of victims: 1,628

Roughly 1,628 people have been murdered by a serial killer in California since 1900. This is up from a total of 1,513 in 2015. One famous California serial killer is Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer. DNA evidence linked him to more than 45 rapes, roughly 12 murders, and more than 100 burglaries. California is also where one of the deadliest workplace murders took place. In 1988 Richard Wade Farley used the shotgun to kill seven of his co-workers and injure four at his former workplace in Sunnyvale, California.